[How do breast cancer patients experience participation in a psycho-oncologic follow-up study?]

Abstract

62 breast cancer patients participating in a prospective psychooncological research project were asked about their attitude toward the study after a one year follow-up period. 40 percent of the women had an indifferent opinion about the study. They felt neither burdened nor unburdened by their collaboration on the study. 32 percent had a positive and 28 percent a negative attitude toward the study. Patients with a positive attitude were more often singles and were more often in unfavourable stages of their cancer when entering the study. However they felt the interviews and rating scales rather helpful for coping with their disease. The women with a negative attitude were more often burdened by psychological problems already before the diagnosis of cancer was made and showed more signs of depression, distrust and cognitive withdrawal in their coping strategies. The results indicate that in psychooncological prospective studies the development of patients' attitude toward the study should be considered more carefully.